Word is that Netflix is having trouble getting high definition Blu-ray movies out the door quickly enough to satisfy its customers. Blu-ray new releases in your Netflix queue will take longer to ship than DVDs because Netflix doesn't have enough copies of each movie. The problem isn't overwhelming demand; actually, only 500,000 of Netflix's 8.7 million subscribers request Blu-ray discs. It's just the opposite: the company doesn't feel there are enough folks renting Blu-ray to justify investing more in the format, since Blu-ray discs are often much more expensive than DVDs.

If you're a Netflix subscriber and you rent Blu-ray movies, you might have noticed that you're paying one dollar per month extra to get those high definition discs. That's Netflix trying to deal with the extra cost, but it's apparently not enough. A representative of the company says that part of the blame lies with the movie studios, who also aren't stocking up enough. He also said the company would dedicate more resources to Blu-ray once the demand increases. But isn't the demand already higher than the supply?

It's not a stretch to suspect that the company doesn't feel the Blu-ray problem alone is enough to make customers unsubscribe, and in doing so, put away their wallets. Blu-ray hasn't achieved widespread popularity, so full support of the format by companies is not widely assumed, but rather perceived as a bonus. And it's not like competitors are doing any better, so where can you take your business if you're not satisfied?

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